Author: Barbara Wayrauch
There are ox wagon tracks in the Namib that were made in the 1890s. They still look as if the last wagon might have passed last year.
And this is not only true for the plains and dunes of the Namib, it also concerns the beaches.
Did you know that “off-road vehicle use is arguably one of the most environmentally damaging human activities undertaken on sandy beaches worldwide” (2)?
The web-footed gecko spends the day in a shallow burrow in the sand and only comes out at night. The borrows are almost invisible. By driving over the gecko gets killed or the sand compacted, so that the gecko cannot come out again.
Corrugation of dirt tracks is caused by driving fast, with hard tyres. Almost no corrugation is caused at a speed of 40 km/h or less. Deflate your tyres, cruise and keep the track smooth!